Sonic and the Deliberate Mary Sue 1
by Velvet D'Coolette
Summary: Pure SatAM. Sally worries about her position among the FFs and Bunnie is still secretly traumatised by her recent roboticization. But when a 'beautiful' and 'mysterious' stranger appears, all of the team are put to the test. Mary Sue parody with a plot.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

_The space around her was black; almost-invisible wisps of vapour streamed past, too fast to be natural. No stars, no stars at all. The air smelled dusty and chilled her right down to the bones. She sensed that she was travelling at incredible speed. The wind made her ears flap hard against her skull._

_The tumbling wrenched her limbs and made them hurt. She didn't know what was happening or where she was going, but she hoped it would all end soon._

_Her long tail whipped in her slipstream and the sword scabbarded at her waist tapped against her hipbone. Spreading her wings wide to try and control her flight, she faced the way she felt she should go and made one, really strong wingbeat, her teeth bared, her eyes narrowed._

_Ahead she could see a light. Angling the feathers on the leading edges of her wings, she tipped herself toward it._

xXx

The Knothole Freedom Fighters enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine as they helped Bunnie plant seeds into small brown pots. They sat a short distance away from the rabbit's house on the grass beside her vegetable patch. Among them, Princess Sally Acorn sat with Tails. The little fox was only five years old, just a cub. She sat with him facing outwards from her lap so that she could supervise him and make him feel involved in what was going on around him. He watched in open wonder as Sally pointed to Bunnie planting carrot seeds and explained in terms he'd understand how they'd grow.

Bunnie caught the princess' eye and smiled warmly at her, relishing the task of bringing Tails up. It was in Bunnie's nature to nurture things, Sally knew. It made her feel _animal_ again - something the rabbit needed to balance the recent and still-raw trauma of her part roboticization.

Everybody was taking it easy. There was going to be a party in Knothole that evening, a humble but lively community festival, and they were all saving their energy for it. Even Sonic. The usual stuff would happen: lots of talking, music and dancing, eating - of course - and for the villagers who were old enough, drinking. These easy-going parties helped to define Knothole: warm, relaxed, but most of all _close-knit._ It kept the villagers' spirits up to have these get-togethers and they happened once every season without fail: spring, summer, fall and winter.

Sally looked around at her friends and comrades. Antoine, the coyote she'd known ever since she could remember, scooped soil into pots for Bunnie to use, preparing them with meticulous care. She watched as he used a stick to scrape the soil perfectly flat on one more before lining it up with the others. Then he sat back and surveyed them with pride: they stood in a row like dutiful little soldiers.

Sonic, on the other hand, never had any interest in gardening, or any work like it. In fact Sonic and Antoine sometimes argued over stuff like this. Antoine said that Sonic was careless; Sonic argued that Antoine was a sissy.

Sally's opinion was that the hedgehog had too much energy: he was always impatient to be on the move. That said, he was very sociable and had chosen to be with the rest of the gang despite the gardening. He sat a few feet away (leaning slightly awkwardly against a tree trunk because of his spikes) and read a comic, occasionally chuckling or muttering encouragement to one of the characters on the pages.

She offered a secret smile in his direction, but he was too involved in his comic to see. Her friend, Sonic. She looked away again.

Rotor sat puzzling over a notepad full of calculations and diagrams. He'd been working on a plan to build the hardware for a portable computer, and he'd be finished soon. As she watched he scratched his cheek. Sally had a decrepit computer in her hut. She'd been writing the software on it and would eventually load it onto the machine Rotor was building. The new programme, they hoped, would enable the Freedom Fighters to hack into Robotnik's system undetected.

The walrus looked over at her. "Sally, do you think we should add a toggle option to function 277?" he asked, his voice high and clear, an aural equivalent of the summer's day. Sally mulled the idea over as she teased the hair on Tails' head.

"Yeah," she answered. "Why not?"

"Cool," he replied. He looked back down to his notepad and shifted the pencil in his hand to scratch his cheek again, pausing a little longer to feel the fine whiskers growing there.

Sally rubbed at Tails' arms and kissed the back of his head gently, then looked around at everybody else. This was her family. And what a strange family it was! Orphans mostly, they'd stayed together since Robotnik had taken over huge swathes of Mobius when they were five years of age. Except for Antoine of course, who'd been eight or nine and Tails, who hadn't even been born. She watched the fox cub as he crawled over to Bunnie and put soil into a pot at the rabbit's instruction.

Give or take a few months she, Sonic, Bunnie and Rotor were all around twelve but despite that, they acted as if they were different ages. They had a confident 'older' brother, Sonic. He was brash, outgoing and a natural leader. Then there was the quiet and studious 'younger' one, Rotor. He thought a lot and had some very good ideas, but he wasn't comfortable leading. Between them - ironically, seeing as he was the oldest - there was the 'middle' brother, Antoine, who always felt he had to prove himself but wasn't quite sure how. Whatever he did, he wanted to get it absolutely right: he expected no less of himself. He didn't like making mistakes but they happened a lot. As if to prove her right, Antoine accidentally knocked over one of his pots. He made a big show of being irritated with himself and putting it right, gathering the soil up and brushing away the mess with his hand.

Then there was the baby of the family, Tails. And Bunnie, the caring big sister who always knew how to cheer the others up. In fact, she'd been there for Sally more times than she could remember. Bunnie's roboticized limbs didn't slow her down at all, not like everyone had worried they might. They actually made the rabbit incredibly strong - physically. What they'd done to her mentally was a little more complicated. And definitely not yet straightened out.

That just left Sally, and with that thought the princess' smile faded. Everybody had their places in the group, but who was she? She wasn't the big sister that Bunnie was: she worried too much. And she was no mother. But she also refused to be helpless. Where did that leave her?

As she struggled to keep the sadness from her face she vaguely noticed Rotor scratch his cheek again.

xXx

The party reached full momentum in no time. Knotholers young and old stood around chatting, eating and drinking. Over by the trees Dr. Draftwood was, as always, surrounded by a group. He regaled them with a story, something to do with a pizza party he'd once held. The group, of a range of ages, were rapt and a chorus of laughter floated over from them. Sally smiled: the doctor had a good way with people. He always seemed to enjoy social gatherings and at this one, as always, his easy nature went down a storm.

Earlier, a Knotholer from the opposite end of the village had borrowed Sonic's guitar and played it, and the villagers had danced and sang. He - an anteater of some obscure kind - was resting now and enjoying a well-earned drink, but soon he'd start up again. He had a good sense of rhythm and she looked forward to hearing him again.

The atmosphere was light and easy. Laid-back.

Sally caught up with Bunnie and listened in on a conversation about the rabbit's future plans for her garden. Off to one side, Sonic and Antoine were bickering about something, although she wasn't quite sure what. Ease and tension; equilibrium and irritation. This was community life and all together, Sally felt comfortable in it.

But somehow this night, the princess didn't quite feel settled. Her thoughts from earlier kept on coming back and scratching at her consciousness like a hungry creature digging around for food: _Where do I fit in?_ She sighed quietly to herself. She didn't know.

Bunnie's infectious laugh pulled Sally back to the present. "Uh huh," the rabbit continued in her husky, yet lively voice, "So Ah wanna try those again this year, but this time Ah'm gonna..." Sally continued nodding even as her ears swivelled away. Something new was happening, judging by the sudden hush of the people. Was the anteater going back on stage again? She stole a quick look in his direction. No. He was still drinking, his long-furred tail curled artfully around his ankles. But he too had stopped.

Then Sally realised that something had to be wrong. The other Knotholers were all going quiet. Even Antoine and Sonic had stopped fighting: Antoine's eyes widened and he craned his neck to look over Sonic's shoulder with an unbelieving expression. His jaw opened slightly but he didn't speak. He blinked heavily as if to re-adjust his eyesight. Sonic, looking puzzled, turned to look. Sally followed suit.

She could never have missed it. There, beyond the edge of the village but walking closer, was a creature Sally had never seen before - not this individual, and definitely never this species.

The most obvious thing about it was its strange colour: a vibrant pink, so bright it left after-images in Sally's eyes. Species with brightly-coloured fur or plumage weren't unknown. Hedgehogs were bright enough. And now, here was another colourful animal.

But what was it?

Something else puzzled Sally: it - scratch that, _she,_ it was definitely a female mammal - was plainly a cross of more than one species. Hybrids were extremely rare on Mobius, although the occasional tigron or mule was known to exist. Sally frowned with confusion: this creature was neither. The approaching female had a feline look but also a canine one. Part wolf, Sally decided. She was part wolf. Perhaps part cat too. _A lioness, perhaps?_ She tilted her head. _No,_ she decided, noting the curvature of the newcomer's nose. _A cougar._

The wings folded against the pink creature's back only added to the confusion, with a vengence.

The female had a haughty manner and looked loftily around at her audience as she narrowed the gap. On closer inspection Sally felt her muscles tense: the female had a belt about her waist and bands around her elbows, wrists and just above her knees. Each held a dagger. Sally didn't like this. The newcomer was armed and that put Sally instinctively on edge.

Stranger still was what was happening in the air around the hybrid. Sally couldn't quite work out what she was seeing. The visitor was surrounded by points of white light. They grew from her body, and when they reached a certain size they fell off her. Apparently they were lighter than air and floated on the eddies caused by the creature's walk. They didn't last long though, and after a few seconds evaporated into nothing - almost creating a twinkling effect. Sally wondered what kind of power this female had.

"Where did _she_ come from, Sally-girl?" Bunnie whispered quietly to her.

"I don't know, Bunnie," she replied and took the rabbit's uncertainty as a cue to find out for herself. She closed the gap with the visitor and introduced herself: "Welcome," she began with a friendly, but slightly reserved tone. She'd make a point of sounding friendlier once the newcomer had stated her goodwill. "My name is Sally Acorn. What brought you here?"

The newcomer looked straight at her and froze for half of a second. The hybrid's eyes were transparent orbs of blue. She looked Sally up and down and then smirked. Sally suddenly felt aware of her scrawniness compared to the hybrid's perfectly-shaped, enormous breasts, enviable waist and toned limbs.

The silence stretched out. Quite a lot longer than was polite. But Sally kept quiet and waited for the newecomer to talk.

"My name is Starla Mirage Brighteyes," she replied as if she was announcing the king or queen of Acornia. Her voice resonated more loudly than Sally's - probably due to her bigger chest capacity. Many winged creatures had loud voices for this reason. "I need to stay here. I don't have anywhere else."

Sally was taken aback for a moment: she hadn't expected the visitor to put herself across so strongly or, if she were honest with herself, with such little tact. Sally had been hoping to conceal the fact that this was Knothole: it was a secret refuge, after all. But it was also Sally's philosophy to respect all life and she could see no immediate reason to send this stranger away, beyond the disturbing weaponry.

"We have a couple of empty huts here Starla," she said diplomatically, thinking ahead. _I want to know more about this girl,_ she decided and began to suggest a meeting in private so that they could discuss where Starla had come from and why she was armed. "But I'd like to suggest first that we-"

"Where are they?"

Sally's ears pricked up in surprise. Didn't Starla think it would be wise to be polite, right now? Surely anybody approaching a stranger with weapons would think so? And in these troubled times, when a Mobian so badly needed protection from Robotnik's raids and patrols, didn't it pay to treat your potential host with respect?

But still, the pink female was't being actively hostile so Sally gave her a kind response in the hope that she would feel more at ease. Perhaps Starla - understandably tense - might relax and be friendlier then. "I'll take you to one of the huts in a little while. But I'd like to talk with you fir-"

"Is anything okay, Sal?" Sonic asked behind her. The hedgehog approached and stood by her side. Sally relaxed a little, grateful for his support. Then something happened Sally wasn't expecting: at the sight of him Starla's attitude changed completely. She smiled and flicked her long, pale pink hair, sending beads of light cascading over her shoulders. The movement irritated Sally in a way she couldn't quite define.

"Hi! My name's Starla," she said again, but this time addressed herself only to Sonic, and in a happy, cutesy voice. "I'm lost and tired and hungry and I need somewhere to stay," she pleaded, looking at Sonic from under her lashes.

Sally felt something in her belly clench tight. She looked at Sonic for his reaction.

Sonic went slack-jawed and then recovered himself. But he looked nervous suddenly. Nervous and... grinning. He coughed out a laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah heh, I guess you can stay here a while," he said with uncharacteristic bashfulness. Sally was astonished: she'd never seen him act like this before. She looked back at Starla. Starla's expression was still troubled with a maiden-in-distress sadness. She looked imploringly at Sonic as if he hadn't yet solved her problem. Sally felt as if she'd turned invisible.

The hedgehog stammered out a second answer: "Hey! I tell you what - I'll show you the best hut now and, uh, then you can come back and get somethin' to eat?"

Starla made a quiet clucking noise of agreement which made Sonic lead her toward the cluster of huts. She looked Sally up and down with contempt, tossed her hair again and strutted off after the hedgehog, her hips swinging carelessly. Sally turned to watch the two disappear among the main cluster of huts, vaguely aware of Bunnie inching closer to her from one side. She looked at her friend, suddenly feeling worried and forgotten.

"Starla Brighteyes, huh?" Bunnie echoed. Sally looked dumbly back at Bunnie, unsure of whether the rabbit was as impressed as Sonic had been. "Isn't that a porn star's name?"

Sally let out a sigh of relief: so Bunnie had felt the hybrid being obnoxious, too! Was it right to talk like that behind the girl's back? _Well, what harm can it really do?_ "Maybe!" she replied with a grin and the two shared a companionable giggle that almost shook loose that tight ball of worry in Sally's chest.

Almost.

xXx

Sonic knew which two huts were empty: firstly there was the broken one full of cobwebs over on the east side of Knothole. It was a little too close to the river since a small landslide about a year ago and since then it had got mouldier and mouldier. The other one wasn't as big but was much better, and set up with blankets, curtains and a bed in case of visitors like Starla. That was the one he led her to, explaining all of this on the way.

Sonic felt strange around Starla. He could feel a tingle in his flesh when he looked at her. There was something about her that he liked, but he wasn't sure what or why. Obviously he didn't like her _that_ much - girls were _okay,_ he guessed. But they way she'd looked at him when she'd asked for shelter had been cute. He looked around at her as they walked and was rewarded with a smile. She twirled one lock of pink hair around her finger and shook the rest of it back, showing off her soft and pale throat, and it was as if she did it just for him.

Soon they came to the hut and he opened the door. "Well, here it is," he chirped, moving to the middle of the room and spreading his arms wide in demonstration. She looked up and around, then wrinkled her nose and shrugged. Then, as Sonic watched, she walked over to the mattress and sat down on it, looking at him in a lazy, almost-shy fashion again. Something in the way she stroked the bed suggested he should sit next to her, and he did.

"Thank you for helping me, Sonic," she said in a low voice. He felt suddenly nervous, as if her attention on him was too intense. He looked away from her to stop it from happening. He didn't know what she was trying to do but it made him feel weird. As he tried to think of something to say to break the silence, she shuffled closer to him and tried to kiss him.

This was all very new to Sonic: he'd never kissed a girl before. He turned to face her but as her breath billowed warmly in his face, he backed off. He felt strangely guilty without knowing why. He looked at the ground, trying to put together a sentence in his head to get him out of the situation. It was time to get out of there.

"Uh, no problemo," he blurted and got up to head toward the door. "You... comin' back to the party?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

She looked disappointed but seemed to get over it, and slithered back onto her feet to follow him.

TO BE CONTINUED...

DISCLAIMER: "Sonic the Hedgehog" and most other characters and situations in the following story are copyrighted trademarks of Sega Incorporated, Archie Comics and/or DIC Productions. Permission to reproduce this specific material may be granted by the author so long as you email first. © 2012 Velvet D'Coolette. The Bookshire Draftwood character © David Pistone.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Bunnie got back to chatting with Sally, as much as anything to guess at how she felt about Starla. She watched the ground squirrel as they talked, and thought to herself. Sally fretted an awful lot and Starla had worried her, no doubt about it. Most people wouldn't have noticed, not even Sonic, but sure as anything Bunnie had. There'd been just that little bit of tell-tale tension in the angle of Sally's ears, an intensity in her eyes and a ready-for-action energy in her slim little body. But right this minute the princess was at ease again, comfortable and easy with the Mobians around her. Bunnie watched with pride as Sally pushed her auburn hair out of her eyes and, as an unconscious afterthought, touched at the short cream fur of her muzzle.

Just then Bunnie's sight was drawn to a bright pink shape beyond the princess, and she looked over Sally's shoulder to make sure she knew for sure what she'd seen. She was right - Sonic and Starla were back, bright pink with rich blue. It happened like a switch: one moment Sally was talking and laughing in her mostly-relaxed way, the next she'd turned to see what Bunnie had noticed and her shoulders went tense. Sonic and the hybrid were a little way away, Starla clearly flirting with the hedgehog.

Bunnie spoke to get Sally's attention. "Don'cha fret about ol' Sonic now, honey," she whispered, her heart glowing with sympathy for Sally and all her ol' worrying. "Ah'm sure Starla's an okay gal really!" Sally sighed and agreed with a subtle nod, and stepped backwards to let the hybrid and Sonic into their circle. Bunnie looked around and noticed Antoine watching with half an eye. But he didn't look ready to come and introduce himself quite yet. Sonic made to speak but the anteater called him over to the temporary bar, away from the females.

"See ya, Starla," the hedgehog said over his shoulder, his eyes bright and boyish. He walked away, blue spines swaying. Bunnie decided to start things off on a happy note and offered Starla her best valley-girl smile. Maybe she and Starla would get on better than Sally and Starla had.

Starla's eyes went straight to her robotic arm, and Bunnie became very aware of the dull metal, the smooth but quietly-clicking and clanging joints, the mangled fur and sore skin of the interface. The hybrid stared for a moment, then looked at Bunnie's face. And then came a sweep down her body, at the leotard that was the only clothing Bunnie found it easy to wear. Skirts looked ridiculous over robot legs. The same was true of wide-enough pants. For Bunnie's own personal reasons a lower-body covering was necessary, but there wasn't a shirt or blouse on Mobius that went right with her leotard.

Starla's gaze ended at Bunnie's unclothed, robotic legs. "Nice slacks," said the hybrid dubiously, shifting her weight from one elegant leg to the other, the dagger-holders around her thighs making her muscles bulge just enough to show off her exquisite toning.

Bunnie immediately felt like ducking behind Sally - anything to hide her ugly, unfeminine, clunky metal legs. She could sense Sally holding her breath. Her blood pumping in her ears, Bunnie tried to put the mortification out of her mind and breathe evenly so that she'd stop shaking. Perhaps Starla was just tired and in a bad mood...

She answered as if Starla hadn't said anything. "Ah'm Bunnie. It's good to meet you, Star," she said, marking darn sure she sounded good-natured and light.

She was faced with a cold stare. "It's Star_la,_" the pink animal corrected her sharply, and then looked down again at Bunnie's arm and legs. "What's _wrong_ with you?"

Bunnie's jaw hung open with shock and her eyes swivelled in Sally's direction. _What in tarnation?!_ she thought, hoping against hope that somehow Sally would transmit back some kind of psychic answer. The rabbit looked over at Antoine. He definitely seemed to have noticed her surprise and watched from behind his drink with a furrowed, curious brow. Still feeling a little shaky, she stammered out a response:

"Uhm-" she began, looking down at the back of her metal hand. It was still trembling so she clenched it and put it down by her side. "-I was part-roboticized last year." Surely there was no need to say more? Bunnie had never been asked about her part-robotic status by anyone before and she sorely hoped Starla wouldn't ask anything else. The hybrid looked over the rabbit's limbs again and arched her brows as if to say, _Yeah. Whatever._

Stiff fabric rustled to Bunnie's left and she looked to see Antoine come to join them. It wasn't often that Bunnie felt safer with Antoine around but just at that moment he was definitely welcome. She felt her shoulders relax as he stopped at the edge of the circle.

Starla raised her eyebrows in unimpressed scorn and said, "Uh... yeah? What?"

"Bonsoir madamoiselle," he said with a bow that had no trace of the sarcasm that Starla seemed to like using so much. Bunnie wondered how ready he was for the hybrid. She noticed his eyes catch for a moment on her figure but then he determindly averted them. Bunnie could have hugged him. "I 'ope zat you are comfortably to be staying 'ere."

Meanwhile, Starla's face had creased into an expression of wry confusion. For a moment she didn't seem to know how to answer and batted at a long lock of her hair as if playing for time. Then: "_What_ did you just call me? You're kidding, right?"

Then it was Antoine's turn to look confused, hold his breath and look to Bunnie for help. "Madamoiselle is meaning 'miss'," he answered slowly, as if he wasn't quite sure whether she was joking. Then he seemed to regain his confidence and slid a hand formally into the front of his uniform. He clicked his heels, stood with a grand confidence that Bunnie thought was adorable because it didn't quite match up to his physique and added, "My intention was to welcoming you with ze greatest of congeniality. My name iz Antoine D'Coolette."

"You're name's weird," said Starla.

Antoine seemed to realise his charm wasn't working and for a moment, looked angry. But he seemed to manage to restrain it to a simple, cold stare and glanced at Sally. Something passed between the coyote and ground squirrel that Bunnie didn't quite catch and Antoine reasserted his confidence by linking his hands behind his back. "It 'as been..." he seemed to search for the right word, "...a _pleasure_, talking wiz you, madamoiselle Starla." He nodded to Sally. "My princess," he acknowledged, and to Bunnie, "Madamoiselle Bunnie."

"Freak."

"Actually Starla," Sally answered lightly, "Antoine's one of our freedom fighters, and a very valuable member of the team." She paused, and threw a proud look in Sonic's direction. The hedgehog had no idea of the catfight going on and instead laughed with the anteater and three other guys. "Just like Sonic."

The hybrid paused at this, and then watched Antoine's back with jello-clear eyes as he walked away. "Sure," came the snide retort.

Rotor had been hanging around nearby listening to another group talking. He caught Bunnie's eye and approached, only to be accosted by Starla as well. "And who are you? You haven't said hi yet," she said, her tone lighter but kinda mocking. Rotor seemed tongue-tied for a moment, working his mouth but unable to speak. Bunnie looked from Rotor to Starla and back again. Starla tilted her weight onto one hip as if teasingly impatient for an answer. Her tail, a long, black-tipped thing, curled slightly behind her.

"I, uh... My name's Rotor," he said, and scratched his cheek.

"And have you got a girlfriend, Rotor?" Starla asked, again with her patronising mockery, brushing her hair to one side and revealing her cleavage. He stared at her chest for a moment, wide-eyed. Then he shook his head as if to clear it, blushed and answered quickly.

"Um... uh, no," he mumbled. He looked suddenly uncomfortable and glanced at Sally for help. But before Sally had time to do anything Starla nestled closer to him, breathing in real deep and pushing out her chest.

"And why not?" she asked huskily, batting suddenly-heavy eyelashes. Bunnie was staggered: Starla was so obviously teasing, but the walrus seemed too spellbound by the fur on display to notice. His eyes dropped to her cleavage again and he looked dumbfounded for a second. Then he blinked and looked away, and scratched his cheek again, embarrassed.

"Well, I guess I just... Don't wanna?" he mumbled, as if it were a lame excuse. Bunnie shared a secret glance with Sally. _Pushy, ain't she?_

Starla seemed to get bored all of a sudden, as if Rotor had failed some kind of test. "Well, I've had a _great_ time talking to you guys," she breezed with an exaggerated warmth before looking Bunnie up and down once more. She turned her strange blue eyes on Sally and mild disgust crept into her tone and the wrinkle of her muzzle. "But I have to go." And with that she turned and walked away, leaving nothing but a loose feather and a trail of white sparkles in her wake.

The two girls looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Rotor didn't seem to have noticed Starla's bitchiness, although he _did_ notice her receding, swaying ass. The general chorus of sideways glances from the other Knotholers were starting to die down and as the anteater stepped up onto the stage and took up Sonic's guitar again, it stopped almost completely.

He strummed his first chord and the crowd whooped.

TO BE CONTINUED...

DISCLAIMER: "Sonic the Hedgehog" and most other characters and situations in the following story are copyrighted trademarks of Sega Incorporated, Archie Comics and/or DIC Productions. Permission to reproduce this specific material may be granted by the author so long as you email first. © 2012 Velvet D'Coolette. The Bookshire Draftwood character © David Pistone.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Sally smiled to herself as she brushed her hair in the mirror. The party had ended as parties usually did: the bored, the tired and the unsociable had gone early, and the reduced numbers had encouraged the others, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups, to go home. Sally had returned to her hut a little after dark to get some sleep. This morning she felt refreshed and ready to move on with her and Rotor's project. She put her brush down and sat at her computer desk.

Sally looked down at her workspace. Here were the things she'd used for years: a pot with pens and pencils, a stack of papers (used on one side but blank on the other), an aged computer on which the majority of her programming project was written, and a radio transmitter with a scratched and chipped casing - the closest the Freedom Fighters had to a telephone service. Altogether the desk and its contents had a familiar feel. It was part of her home.

Rotor had been working on the other half of the project and it was time for Sally to find out how far along he'd got. She checked her watch. It wasn't too early to call: Rotor would probably be awake and alert by now - he'd left the party before midnight. She picked up the transmitter and dialled Rotor's code. She waited for his reply, picking up a pen and taking a sheet of paper to write on.

A buzz of whitenoise, and then an answer: "Hi Sall-" Rotor seemed to have a croaky throat and Sally heard a rustle and a muffled cough as he turned away from his unit. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Good morning Sall-" He paused. His throat was clear, Sally guessed, but his voice still wasn't level. In a flash she understood: his voice had broke.

"Hi, Rotor," Sally replied, trying to sound like she hadn't noticed.

The walrus didn't reply. She could picture the scene in her mind's eye, Rotor holding his transmitter, feeling awkward and not knowing what to do.

_He must be mortified,_ she thought. Sally quickly weighed up whether Rotor would appreciate her mentioning his puberty to get the subject out of the way, or whether he'd prefer just to get on with the work. She guessed he'd probably want the latter.

She pressed the button on her unit to speak again. "I called to ask how you're doing with the computer," she explained, trying to sound indifferent but at the same time wondering if that was really what he wanted.

"Okay," Rotor mumbled, and then fell silent again. Sally bit her lip, not knowing what else she could say. She didn't want to embarrass him.

Then, as she thought again about whether to mention it, he seemed to pluck up more courage. "I-I almost finished putting t-together the hardware yesterday afternoon. It just needs some re-tuning. If y-you give me until about mid-day I'll... be able to load it."

"Okay," she replied gently. There was a brief silence as neither spoke. Then, a buzz of whitenoise came from Rotor's end as he signed off.

xXx

Rotor left his hut timidly - he already felt embarrassed enough about his earlier conversation with Sally. _But I'm probably gonna sound like this for a few months,_ he reasoned, closing the door gently so it didn't slam but so that the lock clicked securely shut. He couldn't hide himself away for that long. So he decided to go for a walk to stretch his legs and clear his head before getting back to tuning the computer.

Anyway, it was a pretty nice morning, so why not? It was still quite early and not many people were around, but that suited Rotor just fine right now. Soon he found himself in a clearing at the edge of Knothole, so he decided to sit down for a while and watch insects. He leaned back on his hands and watched an army of ants carry their grubs from one underground lair to another.

Their world was tiny. They all had their parts to play and the rest of the colony to help them. Rotor was pleased at the thought.

He hadn't been there long before Bunnie appeared. He heard her heavy, solid footfalls before he saw her, and he looked over in her direction to see her hold two branches out of the way and duck beneath another. That's what he liked about this clearing: it took a little effort to get into and was often deserted because of that. But now he had company.

"Oh, hi Sugah," she smiled, flicking her big, heavy ears out of her eyes.

He smiled back, suddenly nervous. He gulped as he realised he'd have to talk to her.

She gave him a worried look and walked over to sit by him. "Everything okay, Honey?" she asked, and touched his arm as if to see if he was all right. He looked at the floor before he answered. "Yeah." his halting reply came. "I-I guess." He felt his face warm a little. He risked a look at her to see how she'd react.

She looked a little surprised, but her look quickly changed to one of sympathy. She nudged his shoulder with her own. "Hey. You'll be okay, Sugah," she reassured him kindly.

He offered her a small, shy smile in response.

She seemed about to say something else when a rhythmic breeze started to waft above them. Rotor looked up to see what was happening and squinted as he saw lurid pink: it was Starla, hovering. She lowered herself into the clearing and landed with a dancer's exaggerated grace. She drew herself up as if she knew she was being watched - and that everybody liked what they saw - and took in the sight of the two Knotholers.

"Oh." she said as she very obviously noticed Bunnie. She fluttered her eyelashes disdainfully and then ignored the rabbit with an imperious lift of her chin. Instead she turned to Rotor. "Hello Rotor," she said silkily, rolling one shoulder so that glossy pink hair and white light cascaded over it. With her hand resting on her hip that way, she looked like she was posing for a photo shoot.

"Hey Starla," he replied quietly, looking away and then back at her and hoping she wouldn't laugh. Not that he really expected her to, but-

Her jaw dropped and she goggled at him with her strange blue eyes. Then her slack mouth turned up into a grin and she started to laugh. "Oh my _god!_" she crowed. She put her hand to her face and made a big, theatrical show of trying to hide her glee. Rotor's heart sank like a stone. He stared at her pleadingly, although he felt his courage draining away fast. _Please don't have meant that._

"You sound so funny!" she announced. Her tail flicked high with girlish excitement. "Oh my god, oh my _god!_ Say something else!"

He looked away, his face really burning this time. _Yeah okay, I know, it's no big deal._ He didn't dare look at Bunnie, but he could see her looking at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, come on now, Starla," Bunnie argued. "There's no need for thayat!"

The hybrid continued to giggle, wrapping her arms around her slim waist at the sheer hilarity of it all. "But it's _funny!_" she insisted.

Rotor felt rooted to the spot. Right now he wanted more than anything to get up and leave, but he felt like he couldn't. If he did then she'd see how embarrassed he was, and something told him she'd be pleased about that. And he'd have to face Bunnie later, and she'd know, and he'd know she knew what'd happened. He didn't want that either. So, feeling angry and humiliated at the way Starla had manipulated him, he stayed, and hoped Bunnie would do the talking.

"Well, Ah don't think it is," Bunnie snapped, and stood up. "Come on, Sugah," she said to Rotor, tapping him once on the shoulder.

Grateful for her decisive action, Rotor got to his feet and followed her out of the clearing.

Starla called mockingly after him in a deliberately uneven voice, "Hello my name is Rotor! Guess what's happened to me!"

He cringed as he followed Bunnie wherever she wanted to go.

xXx

Sonic dribbled a ball as he trotted along, testing his already lightening-reflexes. He loved the occasional kickabout - especially with Rotor - although Sonic was by far the better player. Up ahead he saw Starla, sitting (almost posing, actually) on the grass and making chains out of daisies. As he watched, she squinted at the flower in her hand and pierced a hole in the stem with one sharp claw. Her hair fell forward, hiding her cleavage.

Suddenly Sonic felt a little nervous and strangely keen to impress her. He flicked the ball with his toe and caught it, and quickly checked that his spines were laying smoothly. Then, the ball under his arm, he walked past her in what he hoped would be a nonchalant way.

"Oh, hey Starla," he said, as if he'd only just seen her there.

She looked up at him, shaking her head just once to make her hair fall back, and smiled. She stopped making the daisy chain and leaned back in a way that made her belly look even flatter than it already was. The chain draped across her stomach.

"Hello, Sonic," she said sweetly, batting her eyelashes and letting her wings fall back a little. "You look great!"

He felt his stomach flutter and tried not to look shy. "Uh... Thanks! How are you?"

"I feel great," she said, looking at him through her tresses.

Both went quiet for a second and Sonic shifted his weight from one foot to the other, not sure what to say next.

After a few seconds her face cracked into a grin. "Hey! You talked to Rotor yet today?"

Sonic hadn't been expecting that. "Uh, no," Sonic replied, scratching his head. What was new with Rotor? Whatever it was, Starla seemed to think it was funny. She was giggling.

"Our little walrus pup is growing up!" she said in a mock-motherly tone which somehow managed to annoy Sonic.

"What are you talking about?"

"He's turning into a man!" she said in a strange, lilting voice and a wicked grin, and then started to laugh again. Then Sonic understood, and wondered just why she thought it was so funny. He looked around: he suddenly felt like he wanted to get away from Starla. Now.

"Uh, Starla, I'm gonna go now. I think I... forgot something," he muttered. He headed straight in the direction of Rotor's hut. He didn't look around at Starla. He had a funny feeling she was smirking behind his back and if she was, he didn't want to see it. Had she made fun of his friend? He needed to know.

xXx

Rotor's hut came into view when Sonic was still a little way away. The walrus was there, stocky arms wrapped around his knees, sitting on his front step. Bunnie sat by his side and Sonic saw her talking to him. He couldn't hear her words, but Rotor was mostly avoiding her eyes and occasionally nodded at the ground.

As Sonic got closer Bunnie looked up and nudged Rotor to let him know the hedgehog was there. She said one last thing to him, touched him on the shoulder like a caring sister, got up and left.

"Hey, man. You okay?" Sonic asked, and sat down beside his friend.

xXx

The plasticky click of the keyboard kept Sally company as she worked. She entered one prompt after another, working systematically down the list, and her scribbled notes guided her. For a few hours her entire world was a pale blue flashing cursor on a charcoal black background, the slightly too-cold inside of her hut (half an hour after she started, she put on her blue vest and felt warmer) and the slowly growing stack of text above her cursor. After a few hours her body began to feel stiff from the long-maintained position. Her eyes felt a touch sore from staring at the flickering light and her rear felt flat after so long on a hard wooden seat, so she sat back and took an oxygen level-raising sigh.

_Almost half of it done. Not bad!_ She thought to herself and decided to celebrate with a glass of water, a slow walk around her hut to shake a little warmth back into her legs and a few minutes to gaze out of the window.

She filled a glass and then went to stand by the window to see the fresh greens and rustic browns and brightening blue outdoors. The sight alone was refreshing; Sally felt glad everything was going so well.

Then a scrap of pink appeared from around one of the huts. Starla, Sally thought and tensed. She'd forgotten about Starla.

She watched where the hybrid was going. Starla seemed just to be looking around for something to do, but then she looked straight in Sally's direction. Her ears lifted and she looked more alert. She headed for Sally's hut. Sally noticed that although Starla had seen her in the window, she hadn't actually waved hello or really acknowledged her.

Sally went to the door to unlock it ready for the other female, curious about what would happen next.

Starla knocked the door.

Composing herself, Sally opened it. "Good morning Starla."

Starla's expression could only have been described as tragic. "I need to talk to you," she said in a tone that despite Sally's hardest attempt to be charitable, was best described as a whine.

The princess found herself fighting the urge to look confused. _You go from ignoring my request to confiding in me with nothing in between?_ "Okay. Come on in," she said.

Like most of the Knothole population Sally's furniture was mostly hand-me-downs, and she had only one soft cozy-chair. Starla headed straight for it and hiked her legs over the armrest, sending a little shower of white lights into the air that fizzled out before hitting anything. She settled her wings over the other arm and started twirling a lock of hair between her fingers.

"I want to tell you about my past," she said.

Sally steeled herself against looking irritated and sat down more or less opposite Starla instead, although the hybrid had already started talking. "My parents are rich and we all live in a big house in the city. I'm important because of the family I come from, but nobody's ever appreciated me for that. Daddy runs a cell phone company and never had much time at home when I was growing up. Mom was just a bitch."

Sally tried to work out how to respond to but Starla continued, which saved her the trouble.

"So instead of loving me they booked a tutor who taught me how to sing - I have a b_eau_tiful singing voice, by the way - and dance, and paint, and anything I wanted to do. They showered me with presents and arranged for me to go on vacations anywhere I wanted." She lowered her muzzle and her hair fell over her eyes. "But they never loved me. They just left me alone with this tutor and sometimes he asked me to help with tidying up." Starla's brow folded tragically and she looked at the floor. She looked lonely and exhausted and very, very sad.

Sally worked her jaw as she tried to think how to react. "That's... well, that's-" She struggled to understand quite where Starla's problem was. _Maybe I don't understand because I didn't really have parents myself. Rosie was busy with all of us and left Knothole so early. Maybe having your true parents but not getting their full attention's more upsetting than I realised._

Despite the fact that Sally hadn't finished her sentence, Starla was looking at her and nodding agreement. "I know. I'm speechless too. It's been awful."

Sally felt such a strong pull to agree with Starla that she simply said, "Yes. That _does_ sound awful." Although immediately after, she realised she'd been manipulated. She resolved not to let it happen again but realised with grudging respect the power of Starla's control over the situation. "Okay," the princess said, keen to impress some order over all of this. "So you come from a good family and your education's been excellent. But you feel like you just weren't loved as much as you should have been."

"They didn't love me at all!" Starla snapped, tears welling in her eyes. She slumped hopelessly in the chair and looked at the floor again. She closed her eyes which squeezed the tears so that they rolled down her cheeks.

Sally almost gave in to the urge to say, 'Oh Starla, don't cry. It's okay.' But she managed to hold her tongue. Instead she waited for Starla to say something, or for inspiration on what else she could add to the conversation.

Starla's tears dried up quickly leaving just the faintest salt marks on her cheeks, but she stayed sad and quiet for a moment. Sally looked around, unsure quite how to move the conversation on. And then she noticed that Starla's white star-stuff had started to pool around her back where she laid on the soft seat.

_What actually is that stuff?_

"How old are you?" Sally asked in an effort to try and move the conversation on. Starla was difficult to age, but the ground squirrel guessed she had to be around thirteen or fourteen.

Starla looked up sharply - maybe she hadn't been expecting that question. Her eyes darted back and forth. "Um- eighteen," she blurted. She lifted her legs up and hoisted herself over, and then settled again. She cut eye contact with the princess and fiddled with her hair again.

Sally's eyes narrowed. _What did that just mean?_

Starla had settled again and seemed keen to show off her figure. She seemed almost to pose in the chair, stroking her waist and re-folding her wings.

Sally coughed. "So you learned to fight? Is that where you got your knives from?"

"So I've got knives. So what?" Starla shot back.

"They're nice," Sally answered quickly, fairly sure that this would soften the hybrid.

It worked. Starla looked down at her right-leg knives and preened. "Uh-huh," she said. But she didn't elaborate. "My dagger-fighting teacher was hot!"

"Oh! Great, sure." Sally quickly decided to try and break through Starla's barriers by asking more about this. "So were you guys an item?"

That wasn't such a good move - the hybrid's brow creased again. "Yeah," she said petulantly and tossed her head. "You know Sally, maybe you shouldn't be so nosy. People are paying attention to me all the time and I get so tired of that. Why can't you just understand, huh?"

Sally's words caught in her throat as she tried to decide how to manage Starla's swift change of mood. She closed her eyes and calmed herself. "It looks like I upset you, Starla. If you don't want me to talk about the fighter then I won't."

Starla had taken on a haughty look. Sally's short speech hadn't calmed her down. "You don't have any idea what I've just been through! You know, I just got pulled out of my life and appeared here and I don't know where I am or who any of you people are. Can't you just lay _off?_"

Sally sat up with new interest. "Pulled out of your life? What happened, Starla?"

Starla didn't look any friendlier. She sat up too, folded her arms and wings and glared at Sally. "I was watching a movie and then this light just... came. It sucked me in and then I found myself in this dark place. I had to fly so I did. Then I saw another ring of light and went for it because there wasn't anything else to aim for."

Sally was speechless for a moment. Then: "Oh. Really?"

The instant she said it she regretted it.

"YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, DO YOU?" Starla yelled. "I knew it! You don't believe anything I say! Well, fine!" She stood up, shook her wings and flounced to the door. "You know, if you weren't so focussed on being so _smart, Sally,_ you'd notice that _I've_ had a very hard time and _I_ need friends. But I guess you think you're too important for that so I'm going. And I'm not coming back to talk to you again," she announced, stepping outside. "Ever!"

xXx

Once she'd calmed down from Starla's surprising attack, Sally tried to think about what to do next. She thought there were both truth and lies in Starla's story. _But I don't know how to find out the truth,_ she thought as she gazed out of the window. Soon enough she decided to leave that particular problem alone.

_But her story about leaving her life..._ She lifted her foot and patted until she found NICOLE, and opened her. "NICOLE, report any recent tears in SpaceTime."

TO BE CONTINUED...

DISCLAIMER: "Sonic the Hedgehog" and most other characters and situations in the following story are copyrighted trademarks of Sega Incorporated, Archie Comics and/or DIC Productions. Permission to reproduce this specific material may be granted by the author so long as you email first. © 2013 Velvet D'Coolette. The Bookshire Draftwood character © David Pistone.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

NICOLE spoke. "SpaceTime: the fabric that holds the universes together and also defines the boundaries of each."

Once NICOLE had located the reference in its in-built library Sally wanted to hear, the squirrel's questions came freely. Some, NICOLE could answer. Others it couldn't so Sally resolved instead to discuss them with the others.

"Can a living organism pass between universes?"

"Unknown, Sally."

"Identify this." (Sally fed NICOLE a sample of Starla's white light as best she could. It had a strange texture which was difficult to describe because it dissolved so easily.)

NICOLE read the data for a few seconds. "Unknown, Sally."

An unknown element. This was something alien that Starla had brought through from her home universe. Sally looked nervously at the white light-beads she'd managed to collect into a jar. Was it too late to wonder if they were dangerous?

She decided to take a gamble and gave NICOLE an instruction. "Be alert for this element. Notify me if you find any."

That turned out to be the winning move. Starla's element, NICOLE soon revealed, was detectable just beyond this universe.

SpaceTime, the fabric holding the universes together, also acted as curtains to keep one separate from another. In places this metaphorical fabric was thin. Although the process that created these weak spots was technical enough to keep Sally researching for a few hours, the truth boiled down to this: NICOLE could detect them by flagging up areas in which the same element Starla was shedding occurred. As that element did not originate in this universe, NICOLE found it easy to detect.

There was a mild complication: Starla had been shedding that element since she'd arrived and had left trails that NICOLE kept picking up. But if she ignored those, Sally could find pockets of space that Starla could in theory pass through and return home. All it would take then, NICOLE hypothesized, would be a cloud of hydrogen gas to be released and for all other living creatures present to stand well back. A reaction between the gas and Starla's element would tear open the fabric for a short time and pull her though.

Sally kept NICOLE on standby until it detected such a weak spot. In the meantime she needed to gather a container of hydrogen gas. Rotor, she knew, would have no problem achieving that.

This extra research done, Sally restarted the aged desktop and completed her programme.

xXx

Sally approached Rotor's house and knocked on the door. The sun had begun to lower toward the horizon and she felt a chill in the air, so she hugged herself close. At first she heard nothing and wondered how much Rotor's already fragile self-confidence had been dented. She wasn't sure whether he'd want to meet her this evening, but they had work to do so tonight was as good a night as any. As she gazed into nothingness wondering these things he answered the door.

She snapped back to the present. "Hi, Rotor," she said with all the belief she could manage that he still wanted her nonchalance. He smiled awkwardly in return, not quite meeting her eyes, and let her in without a word.

Instead of making conversation that he'd feel he had to answer, she looked around the inside of his hut even though it was already familiar. The smell of an earlier-cooked meal, of at least two different types of oil and some kind of fuel she couldn't identify vied subtly for dominance. A strange combination of smells but a comforting one. They headed for the worktop.

The computer the walrus'd been building squatted there, plugged into a generator and whirring. Sally felt a thrill of excitement: she loved it when projects came together and the machine looked (battered but) complete. He led her over to it with his usual broad steps, perhaps a little more confident because he wasn't facing her, but still said nothing. The only sound that came from him so far was the scrape of his claws on the bare wooden floor. But there was nothing else Sally could say - it was time for him to say something and he seemed to be as aware of that as she was. He rubbed the back of his neck and tentatively cleared his throat.

"Have you g-got the software?" he asked quietly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. She efficiently pulled out a disk onto which she'd downloaded her work.

"Yes. Here it is," she said and held it out to him. Without another word he took the disk from her, took a seat and fed it into the front of the computer. He settled and took to staring doggedly at the computer screen. He started tapping at the keyboard and silence fell again except for the clicks of the keys. Plainly he was trying to ignore her, but they needed to be able to communicate.

"Rotor?"

He gulped, and turned just enough to give her a sideways look. "...uh huh?"

"Have you talked to Starla today?"

She'd only asked so that she could open a conversation about the hydrogen, but when she saw the face he made she realised something had happened. "What... Did something happen?" she asked tentatively, trying to find the fine line between giving Starla the benefit of the doubt and her protective feelings for Rotor.

"S-she laughed at me." He blushed and shrugged away a paroxym of embarrassment with some difficulty. For a moment it looked like that was all he had to say, but just as Sally looked back at the computer screen he blurted, "I hate h-" he checked himself, and then tried again uncomfortably, mumbling, "I don't like her."

Sally wasn't surprised. But it took a lot to make Rotor angry and it looked as if Starla had managed just that. He risked another sideways glance at her and seemed ashamed by his outburst. The silence was starting to become painful; she had to do something to break the ice. _Well, i've got just the thing, haven't I?_ She reached down to her boot and picked off NICOLE. "I think I've got something you'd like to see," she said brightly.

That surprised Rotor enough for him to look genuinely curious. "What?"

xXx

It was the Freedom Fighters' policy, whenever possible, to attack Robotropolis at night. Robotnik's surveillance cameras were trained to track movement, but the large number of rats in the city meant they were easily led to follow the harmless rodents instead of the guerilla Knotholers, and better still, the real pair of eyes behind the cameras - Snively - was not particularly alert for signs of activity. With patience, ingenuity and skill, the team could - and usually did - outwit Robotnik's defences.

So this nightfall, Sonic and Sally, Bunnie, Rotor and Antoine gathered together in Sonic's hut ready to make final preparations for the mission ahead. The plan was set: get into Robotropolis, test out Sally and Rotor's new equipment and get out. All, if the plan went as it should, without being noticed. Final checks done, the team headed out in the direction of the city.

They did not know that they were followed.

xXx

All was dark except for the glow of the occasional light over the city walls, the final traces of richly-coloured sunshine fading under the distant clouds to their left, and a few fireflies signalling to each other in the air. The plan was simple. As Sonic brought them to a stop he turned around to look at them all in the twilight and to wish everybody luck before they-

"Oh, no!" he exclaimed with feeling and slapped his forehead. Sally immediately looked worried and whipped around, probably expecting to see a surveillance bot. But Sonic knew she'd see something that - in a way - was worse. She cast about for danger behind the group but quickly noticed movement above.

"Juuust great," the hedgehog grumbled as Sally squinted at the lurid colour in the semi-dark.

There, musky pink against the sky, hovered Starla with a smug look on her face. She flexed into a pose and hovered down to land in the centre of the group. Wings, pink enough to look exotically colourful even in the last of the polluted evening light, folded. Her ears were perked with confidence and she looked around at the group.

"I've come to help you with your mission," she announced, flashing a flirtatious smile at Sonic before turning to Sally and eyeing her coldly. Sally in turn looked at Sonic. I honestly don't know why she's done this, said the princess' look.

"What do you think you're going to do, Starla?" Sonic asked irritably. "Kill Ro-Butt-nik all by yourself?"

She clucked loftily. "I don't know whether I can do that the first time, but I'm willing to help you out," she reasoned, strutting daintily closer to him. "I have training," she added, "but I don't suppose Sally would have told you that."

All eyes turned to Sally. She sighed. "Oh, yeah. Starla and I had a talk earlier and it turns out she's trained to fight with daggers," she said. She looked at Starla - who was posing to show off the daggers strapped to her limbs, and her female assets at the same time - and Sonic got the impression she was curious about how Starla thought this would help.

Sonic cut to the chase and asked. "I guess you should come with us then, Star," he said, happy to let her hear his irritation. "Then you can show us how useful your dagger training is."

Sally swallowed down a smile: Sonic could be wonderfully acidic when he wanted to be.

Antoine - unusually - looked at Sonic, some message in the set of his face. The hedgehog could see the coyote had thoughts about the situation too.

Starla looked sourly at Sonic. "Okay," she consented, "I'll come with you. But it's Star_la!_"

TO BE CONTINUED...

DISCLAIMER: "Sonic the Hedgehog" and most other characters and situations in the following story are copyrighted trademarks of Sega Incorporated, Archie Comics and/or DIC Productions. Permission to reproduce this specific material may be granted by the author so long as you email first. © 2013 Velvet D'Coolette. The Bookshire Draftwood character © David Pistone.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

As they walked along, Antoine looked over at Starla. He had noted with great interest at first that she was armed with daggers. He'd been trained to sword-fight as a pup and, although he found little or no practical use for this skill as a Freedom Fighter, he still felt pride in his ability. It was his heritage, and one day he hoped to pass the knowledge on to his son. He assumed he'd have one, of course. His very first inkling on seeing Starla's weaponry was that they'd have something in common.

But he had only been interested in Starla's armoury at first. Even as she had spoken with Sally on arriving at Knothole Antoine had been vaguely aware that the hybrid didn't hold her arm in such a way as to be ready to draw a weapon; she didn't have reflexes quite as sharp as he would expect. He had been happy to ignore that at first: perhaps she was tired? After hearing from Bunnie about Starla's behaviour yesterday however, he was less than keen to make excuses for her. In fact, the more he learned about her, the less convinced he was that she was a skilled warrior. It didn't fit with what he observed. So as he walked side by side with his comrades in the almost-darkness he frowned, thinking he should tell somebody.

The princess. She was the leader. And his future queen. He had to share his intelligence with her.

"Ah - princess?" he called out suddenly.

She looked around at him. "Yes, Antoine?"

He caught up with her in a slightly furtive way. "I must to be speaking to you now," he said. She nodded slightly and kept looking at him. She didn't seem to understand the secrecy he needed and he tugged her elbow. She appeared surprised for a moment, then looked at the others briefly and fell back with him.

"What is it?" she whispered confidentially.

As they walked along he explained as best he could his concerns. Sally occasionally glanced at Starla, who appeared to be trying to look authoritative and matching Sonic pace for pace, and was unaware that Sally and Antoine had fallen back at all.

When Antoine had finished explaining his thoughts, Sally became quiet. She looked pensive and gazed into nowhere as if thinking his words over. Then she gave him a final brief nod and caught up with the others. He followed.

xXx

At the head of the group, Starla marched with Sonic at her side. She could have flown - and she liked to fly - but she wanted to be near to Sonic. After all, the more he looked at her the more enraptured he'd be. And she wanted Sally to see the pair of them united, marching together. Nobody spoke; she assumed they were all keen to make an impression on her and look efficient. She could understand why they would do that. Even Sonic kept his gaze straight ahead without looking at her. He looked so intense. It gave her shivers just looking at him.

Everything was quiet. Everyone's so stressed out! She thought. So she decided to help everyone chill out and began to hum, soothing them and raising their spirits with a pretty tune. Out of the corner of her eye, Sonic looked in her direction. She felt so proud!

She looked back to check on Rotor; he had been looking at her and snapped his gaze ahead. She saw an opportunity for a fun game and continued to hum, looking at his face and trying to get him to make eye contact with him. He frowned; he looked at the ground in front of him; he sighed. She hummed louder, her eyes still on him. He'd look at her if she tried hard enough...

He blushed and began to drag his feet. Ha! She thought. She was just considering starting to sing, when Sonic called from ahead: "Starla! Knock it off!"

"Why should I?" she shot back, suddenly feeling _very_ defensive and annoyed.

"You'll get us caught!" Sonic insisted and looked forward again. Who do you think you are?! Disgusted by his attitude, Starla hung back a little. She didn't want to walk with him any more when she could have far more fun with the others. She flicked her wings and kept pace with Rotor instead.

xXx

Bunnie stole a glance at Rotor as the team walked along. He kept his eyes fixed resolutely on the ground. His expression was one of defeat. His shoulders slumped. He looked, in short, miserable. Bunnie desperately wanted to reach out to him, but it was crystal clear that that would embarrass him even more.

So instead she looked past him, at Starla: she, in contrast, looked sneeringly pleased with herself. She held her head and ears high, with a twisted grin. She looked at the walrus again and opened her mouth to say something to him, when something snapped in Bunnie and she blew.

"Don't you dare say a thing, Starla!" she erupted, pointing a finger hard at the hybrid's face. She panted angrily through clenched teeth. She'd had enough of Starla's pathetic games and she was perfectly happy to ride out her anger like this. The pink female looked taken aback at first, and at a loss for what to say. Her eyes were wide and surprised; her jaw hung in shock. Then her freaky blue jelly-eyes hardened and she replied:

"Why don't you shut up, bitch? I can say whatever I want!" And with that, the pair faced each other square and released a tirade at one-another, each ranting and not listening to a word the other was saying:

"Ah've just about had enough of y'all and your stuck-up jaw'in and ah'll tell you one thing for nothin': you ain't as special as you think you are and ah'm sick of hearin' ya pick on other people who don't deserve-"

"Who do you think you're talking to? Do you think I'm going to listen to anything that comes out of _your_ mouth, you little jerkwad? You've got a _stupid_ accent and you couldn't say anything that made sense if I gave you a million dollars! Why don't you get a life you cripple-"

It had happened before Bunnie knew she'd done it: Starla stood a couple of feet away, nursing her jaw as if she'd been hit. Bunnie groggily became aware that she was holding her living hand up in front of her, hooked from the lightening-fast punch. She looked, panting, from her hand back to the hybrid, surprise turning to righteous indignation.

"Don'cha ever call me a cripple again," she said finally. Starla looked as if she was about to retort something when Sonic stepped in between the two of them, his arms outstretched to keep the pair apart.

"That's enough!" he ordered. "We've got stuff to do." Bunnie and Starla threw each other a disdainful glare before turning to walk on. Her heart still thumping, Bunnie looked studiously ahead, determined that the confrontation was over and that there would be no further need to argue. And feeling not a little shocked at her own temper.

xXx

Rotor fell in alongside the others as they continued walking, but a flash of bright pink in the corner of his eye compelled him to look over at Starla. She looked irritable and eyed him up and down.

"What are you looking at?" came the unfriendly snarl. Spurred by Bunnie's attack, he kept his eyes locked on to hers. His heart rate accelerated from stress but he didn't look away.

But then he had to say something, didn't he? _Damn,_ he thought as the inspiration left him.

"Nuthin'," he wobbled in an angry retort. She sneered and thundered on, staring angrily ahead.

Rotor was about to berate himself for not coming up with a better comeback, but then he thought again: "What are you looking at?", she'd said. And his reply? Nothing. He grinned, suddenly pleased. _Yeah, that's right, Starla. I wasn't looking at anything: I was looking at you!_

xXx

Starla gritted her teeth as she stalked along beside the others. Her jaw still rang out from Bunnie's surprisingly hard punch, and she slowly unclenched her jaw. It hurt to do that. That was Bunnie's fault!

Why was everybody against her? She couldn't understand it. Rotor sounded stupid: what was wrong with laughing at him? He should think it was funny, too. Where was everybody's sense of humour? And she couldn't believe that Sonic had taken Bunnie's side. Bunnie had just hit her! As far as Starla was concerned, that made her wrong. Dead wrong.

Even that gay French guy kept doing that thing, not looking at her as if that was the politest thing to do.

She flicked a glance at Sally. Starla didn't like Sally: she thought she was so much better than everybody else, and that made Starla angry. Why did Sonic like her? There was nothing to like! She sneered at the squirrel, hoping the little bitch could feel the hatred and just wither and die.

At that moment, Sonic looked around at her, and the hedgehog's expression snapped from terse curiosity to anger. A moment later, apparently sensing the animosity in the air, Sally looked at Starla, too.

"What are you look-" Starla started, when Sonic cut her off.

"Grow up, Starla," he snapped.

Starla could hardly believe her ears: he was supposed to be _attracted_ to her. That was what she'd expected. He was supposed to like her and forget all about that self-important whore of a princess. But the look on his face said it all: I don't like you! And Starla believed there and then that that wasn't going to change. She had to get away from there, and now.

"Fine!" she announced, spreading her wings. "See how you all do without me!" And without waiting for them to beg her to stay - that would teach them! - she beat her wings and lifted clear of the floor. Spiralling to catch the wind, she threw one last angry glance at Sally and soared off, pulling her tummy in and hoping Sonic would see how lithe and sexy she was, and understand what he was missing. Maybe once they'd felt enough remorse she'd come back.

xXx

The Freedom Fighters watched the bright pink hybrid disappear in silence. The group relaxed tangibly as the distance grew between her and them. Finally Sonic muttered, "Good riddance," and turned to lead the others further on. Sally took in a breath and said quietly:

"Sonic, don't you think we should watch out for her?"

"What for?" he asked earnestly, palms up. He didn't want anything more to do with Starla: she'd been aggressively flirty with him, humiliated his friend, insulted Bunnie... "She thinks she can do okay on her own, so let her try it."

"Sonic," Sally explained, trying to be patient, "She's not as experienced as she thinks she is."

Sonic looked unsympathetic. Sally paused for a moment to share a glance with Antoine and then continued. "Think about it," she said. "She says she's a fighter in some other dimension with technology roughly equal to ours. So what does she need daggers for?"

That stopped Sonic's retaliation before it left his mouth: he hadn't thought of that. Now, with Sally asking him the question, he was forced to wonder the same himself. "Well, uh..."

"She's so busy fighting us guys, she's not even focussed on getting to Robotnik. She hasn't asked where we're going, or what we'll do when we get there. How many hours do we spend planning these things, Sonic? She thinks she can breeze in there and beat him without even trying! Does that sound like an experienced Freedom Fighter to you?"

Sonic had to admit that it didn't. "Uh, no-"

"And what kind of fighter is fluorescent pink, for gosh sakes?" Sally added flippantly, aware that maybe she sounded bitchy saying it, but by now she was in full swing and just at that moment, the fact that it felt damn good to say it outweighed her sense of duty. But she felt a clench of guilt immediately after and tried to backtrack. "How can she hide from anybody?" she added as justification, suddenly realising the list of reasons Starla couldn't fight was even longer than she'd first thought. At least three other reasons jostled in her head but she decided against mentioning them, at least for now.

The hedgehog looked reluctantly convinced and sighed. "Alright, Sal," he said, sounding weary. He cast a look over his shoulder in the direction of the SWATbot factory where they had been headed, and then seemed to decide that that particular mission was aborted. He looked up ahead at the still-visible form of Starla stroking the air with her broad wings. He began to walk impatiently in that direction. "Let's do it," he said grimly.

xXx

Snively stared goggle-eyed at the surveillance screen: an animal was flying brazenly above the streets. This in itself wasn't as surprising as her colour and shape.

Since when was any Mobian bright pink? And he had no idea what species she was.

He reached over to the button that would open up a communication line between himself and Robotnik. He pressed it and waited. The doctor's face appeared.

"What is it, Snively?" Robotnik's greeting suggested that Snively might be wasting his time. Snively hated the implication - he worked more hours than even Robotnik seemed aware of, but at the same time he was too afraid of his uncle to retort.

"Sir, we have an intruder. I think you should take a look." and with that, he tapped another button to send the surveillance footage to Robotnik's screen. He sat back and clenched his fists nervously, waiting for Robotnik's verdict. The dictator appeared back on-screen.

"Capture it. I wish to speak to it," he said, as if just by giving the order it was already done. Snively was always impressed by his dictator's ability to assert his contempt and noted Julian's use of the pronoun 'it' for the undeniably female trespasser as an excellent example.

Snively had been hoping that Robotnik had a better idea than he about what the beast was, but if he did he was not letting on. Obediently he turned to another communication portal to speak to the Hoverbot squadron.

"Intruder alert, over Sector Thirty-Two. Capture it." he commanded briskly, savouring the rich taste of condescension as he said it. That done, he switched back to the surveillance camera and watched the weird creature fly onwards, directly into the path of the oncoming ambush squad.

Why on Mobius does she have daggers? he wondered silently.

xXx

Sally looked around at the others and weighed up the state of the group. They'd all relaxed quite a lot, that much was clear. The intense feeling of mutual dislike that had flickered between them like electricity during Starla's presence had faded to a background irritation at the disruption of their mission. Sonic was clearly resigned to the task of rescuing Starla and led them briskly, unwilling to waste any more time than was necessary. If they got Starla back quickly they might not even have to abort the original mission. Rotor held his head and shoulders more confidently. Antoine looked mildly thoughtful. Sally thought Bunnie was still holding on to some of her anger: the rabbit kept looking at the retreating pink shape in the sky ahead of them. As the Freedom Fighters walked together, Sally sidled over to her.

"Hey. You okay?" she asked.

"Fahne," the rabbit shrugged tightly. Her robotic arm ground quietly with the movement. Then she relented a little and cast Sally a quick glance. "Yeah, Ah'm fahne, Sally-girl," she said more warmly. She looked ahead again. "Got her nose up her own hootchie, don'cha think?"

Good old Bunnie, Sally thought cheerfully. When Sally felt under pressure to be the professional, unbiased royal, Bunnie could always be relied on to speak her mind. And to speak Sally's mind too, unerringly. Despite the tension, she couldn't help but giggle lightly.

Bunnie looked pleased by Sally's laughter and started to say something else when Antoine interrupted her.

"Sacre bleu!" The coyote blurted and pointed up into the sky ahead of them. "Starla, she iz to be cat-napped!"

Everybody looked. As the team watched, Starla was surrounded by a team of Hoverbots. She stalled in the air, beating her wings frantically to keep airbourne. She span around, looking at the robots now suspended in a ring around her. As she turned her back, one of them darted a weighted net over her and captured her neatly. She struck out with arms and wings, but it was no use: she was caught. A string between the net and the Hoverbot kept her from falling too far, and the robot fleet turned back the way they'd come, their living cargo still struggling inside the net.

TO BE CONTINUED...

DISCLAIMER: "Sonic the Hedgehog" and most other characters and situations in the following story are copyrighted trademarks of Sega Incorporated, Archie Comics and/or DIC Productions. Permission to reproduce this specific material may be granted by the author so long as you email first. © 2013 Velvet D'Coolette. The Bookshire Draftwood character © David Pistone.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Robotnik walked into the interrogation room, his hands clasped masterfully behind his back. As he entered he deigned to look at the animal his Hoverbots had captured.

It looked no more recognisable as a species close up. Its bizarrely brightly-coloured transparent eyes were set in an angular face of either feline or canine descent, but he was undecided which. Feathered wings blended into a furry back. Despite the wings, not a trace of a beak. Very large and prominent mammaries that betrayed a level of hybridisation that should have been impossible.

He came to a stop and leaned forward to investigate her more closely still.

_Ah yes,_ he thought, _This girl would make a fine robot_. He took a moment to admire the strong set of those wings and their potential as not only metallic engines of flight but also as weapons. The lightly-built frame and retractable feline claws would add to her strengths. _But first, let us determine where she came from._ If there were more of this Mobian than one then he had an opportunity. A whole population of these creatures would make a useful army indeed!

She stared back at him, jaw jutted forward with practised impudence. But it was a tenuous rebellion, Doctor Robotnik was easily experienced enough to see that. He took a purposeful step forward and she flinched. Her wings half-unfurled, but there would be no chance of escape.

"Good afternoon, my dear," he asked in a honeyed tone. "And what brings you to my domain?" Danger underlined his words.

She hardened her expression and glared back, eyes as hard as an eagle's. He saw the beginnings of panic under the bravado and decided to hold back on menacing her too much until after she'd told him everything he wanted to know.

"We're here to bring you down, Robutnik!" she snapped.

_We?_ Snively hadn't reported any other intruders, only this one. However, resistance forces usually attacked in groups and this news did not come particularly unexpected. Did that mean there were more of these creatures in Robotropolis at this very moment? Such potential! But that _did_ imply a problem and he narrowed his eyes: it did not do to have invaders. Depending on what she said next he would give the order for a search.

"Is that the case?" he replied slickly and took to pacing up and down in front of her. "Who are 'we'?" At this, the prisoner fell quiet. He stopped pacing and looked into her unnatural, jelly-like eyes. There was fear there but he also saw a plain lack of information. She didn't know anything. That could mean she was either an amateur or a menial foot-soldier. And if she was a foot-soldier then where was her captain?

"Snively! Send a search! I want all intruders caught!"

"Right away, sir," his nephew replied quickly as he saw Robotnik's temper flare and left the room to make the order.

The beast's allies had to be found. In the meantime, a little further interrogation before he roboticized her...

xXx

Sonic led the others between pillars and around tanks, under bridges and across streets, confidently following a memorised map that kept them all hidden from the cameras. As he walked Sally caught up with him.

"The sooner we send her home the better," she whispered. Sonic nodded.

"How did she even think those daggers were any help?" he asked frustratedly after a pause. "She was lyin', Sal. There's no way she's done any trainin'."

Sonic was right, of course. Although the only one of the Freedom Fighters who had ever had any professional battle training was Antoine - and even then only at an early age - they a had a wealth of practical fighting and espionage experience between them. So far, Starla had broken every rule in the book: deliberately demoralising other team members, going off by herself, doing nothing to compensate for her conspicuous colour... the list went on and on.

They came to the building that housed the interrogation room. Sonic had guessed this was where Starla would be brought, so this is where he'd led them. They entered.

xXx

Robotnik's patience was wearing thin.

"Tell me what you were doing, you little fool!" she hissed at Starla.

Through his simmering anger, Robotnik looked carefully at his hostage. Something about this monster's story didn't fit: she claimed to be part of an organised attack group and she had heavily implied at first that they had, between them, a plan. But she genuinely didn't seem to know what that plan was. That suggested she was part of a group that either comprised individuals who didn't know each other well enough to want to protect its members, or that they were extreme enough to know each other _and_ didn't mind sacrificing each other. This was more extreme behaviour than he knew to expect even of Sonic Hedgehog's rebels.

Or - and this thought made even the dictator look around the room for signs of immediate danger - she had been used as bait. Had he walked into a trap? That idea made him angry. _Very_ angry. Soon, if this animal did not say something useful, she would suffer.

Very soon.

xXx

Sonic led Bunnie through the ventilation system. He'd insisted on being part of the rescue team, and Bunnie would be the best help if they had to use brute force to break Starla out of there. Sally, Rotor and Antoine he'd sent to the prison cells to check for new inmates, just in case Robotnik had sent Starla there.

He stopped at the grille that opened onto the interrogation room and shuffled aside to give Bunnie space to see the situation for herself.

There was Starla: wings set like twin shields at her back, feline tail-tip flicking with tension. Secured by both wrists to vertical bars set in the floor, she stood helpless. Robotnik was standing over her, teeth bared with fury.

Sonic held his breath for a moment. He desperately hoped Starla wouldn't say anything. Then he relaxed as he realised she had nothing to say. Sally had pointed out earlier that Starla had absolutely no idea what the Freedom Fighters wanted to do in Robotropolis. Not beyond the general theme of overthrowing Robotnik, anyway.

But that meant she was in danger. She needed to be rescued. Now. And he knew how.

He turned to Bunnie with a plan.

Her face was set. _I'll help get her out of there,_ her look said, _but I don't want to_. Sonic guessed he looked the same. Quickly and efficiently, he told her what he wanted her to do.

xXx

"FOR THE LAST TIME: WHAT IS YOUR PLAN, YOU MISERABLE MISFIT?" Robotnik thundered, his face close to Starla's, his nose virtually pressed against her muzzle. She looked thoroughly scared but the dictator did not feel satisfied: he still had to break her spirit. He stood up to his full height. "Tell me," he murmured after a pause, fully aware if the extreme potency of a quietly-delivered threat. He used the tactic well when his prisoners didn't make him too angry. The results were often very satisfying.

Starla's - for she claimed that was her name - eyes were wide with fear and her jaw slack, and she simply gawped silently back at him. She gulped... and said nothing. She shook her head gave told him no plan. Robotnik finally lost patience. "DAMN YOU!" he whipped around to speak to Snively. "PREPARE HER FOR ROBOTICIZATION!" He turned to face her again and lowered his voice to a malevolent hiss. "Do you know what is going to happen to you?"

She shook her head. Her ears trembled with a fear that shook her from head to toes.

"We'll turn you into a mindless bot. Your friends will never see you again. You'll turn on them without a single thought." That didn't seem to move her as much as he'd expect and he almost changed his order right then to one for torture. She was hiding information, he was sure of it.

Which to do? Torturing her would ruin her as a robot. He weighed up the choices...

"No!" she squeaked with terror, every part of her shaking terribly. "don't, please-"

"Yo, Butt-nik!" came a familiar confident call. He whipped around.

"Sonic!" Starla said with palpable relief. The little beasts knew each other!

"_Rodent!_" he snapped. "Curse you!"

"Ah, come _on,_ Ro-Butt-nik," Sonic drawled, "When you gonna try an' catch me? I ain't got all night!"

Robotnik gritted his teeth and drew his laser gun. "Say goodbye, rodent!" he grated. He shot a blast in Sonic's direction. But the hedgehog was no longer there.

A blue streak darted around Robotnik, making him turn once to try to keep up, before returning to the same spot as he'd started in. Sonic grinned, riling Robotnik. He walked over to the wall and leaned against it, feigning indifference.

"You know what your problem is, Buttnik? You're too darn slow! You can't even keep up-"

A metallic bang sounded behind Robotnik and he turned instinctively to investigate, only to be kicked on the behind by Sonic. With a mighty bellow of rage he turned back and shot another laser bolt.

Too late. Sonic had already moved on.

Behind him Bunnie Rabbot was rescuing Starla, but Robotnik didn't have the capacity to care any more: he was furious. He could feel his skin glow red with pure anger. How he hated that hedgehog! Sonic was darting to and fro, skirting the walls and constantly making the human change direction in a vain effort to keep up. Robotnik knew only one thing: he wanted that hedgehog dead, _NOW!_

"There!" Bunnie cried triumphantly, breathing deeply with the effort of pulling Starla's restraints apart. Before Starla could say or do anything Bunnie bullied her in the direction of the door.

Robotnik was in a blind rage, still trying to shoot Sonic. But as the prisoner escaped with Bunnie Rabbot, Sonic's voice sounded behind him once more with a, "Gotta go, Fat-Butt!"

And with that, he was gone. They were all gone.

Robotnik virtually screeched with rage and flung his gun at the wall.

xXx

Snively took a few steps back, an inadequate distance away from his uncle. He knew what happened when Robotnik got this angry: he turned his anger on his nephew. Escape was futile. Snively had tried that before only to be hunted down by a robot of his own design and punished all the more heavily. One time he'd been put into solitary confinement for a week, not only showing that he was dispensable, but that punishment could last a great deal longer than one short, sharp beating. Snively had only needed to spend that time in the dark and cold and utter isolation once to learn that he preferred the violence to those seven days of silence and loneliness.

That didn't stop Snively being afraid so he stood there, quaking in his boots, waiting for Robotnik to stop ranting and to pick him up by the collar.

It would be far from pleasant...

TO BE CONTINUED...

DISCLAIMER: "Sonic the Hedgehog" and most other characters and situations in the following story are copyrighted trademarks of Sega Incorporated, Archie Comics and/or DIC Productions. Permission to reproduce this specific material may be granted by the author so long as you email first. © 2013 Velvet D'Coolette. The Bookshire Draftwood character © David Pistone.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Sonic and Bunnie finally stopped running - Bunnie virtually dragging Starla along by the wrist - when they saw their friends waiting for them outside the gates. Sonic slowed to a trot and then a walk and Bunnie stopped to get her breath back, while Starla leaned on the fronts of her legs and panted, muzzle pointed toward the ground and her belly hollowing, inflating, and hollowing hard.

The group waited for the hybrid to regain her composure and perhaps say thank you to Sonic and Bunnie, maybe even sorry for the trouble caused. But when she got her breath back she simply straightened her belt and combed through her long hair with her fingers.

"Did you do what you came here to do?" she asked distractedly as if, now that the mission was over, finally she could attend to the urgent task of her grooming. Starla's gaze flitted nonchalantly over to Sally as if she was the person the hybrid expected an answer from.

Sally couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Annoyance overtook her before she could stop herself. "Hey, wait a minute, how _dare_ you!" she glared at Starla. "How can you stand there and-" As she began this rant she chastened herself for losing her temper: what kind of royal was she? A royal who couldn't control their temper was no better than a dictator. Her father, if he were here, would be so disappointed.

But what actually stopped her from talking was the fact that Sonic, Bunnie and Antoine had started rants of their own. She fell silent as a chorus of protests rose around herself and the winged female. Starla turned her head and looked at the others, unsure of who to face in the verbal onslaught.

"Geez, Starla, we nearly got killed just bustin' you outta there! What the-"

"What in tarnation is _wrong_ with y'all? Ah just got you outta that-"

"Zut alors! Madamoiselle, you are truly ze most incor... inde..."

Surrounded by the support of her friends and reassured by the fact that she was not the only one angry with Starla - and therefore maybe she wasn't the dictatorial despot she'd feared herself to be - Sally calmed down and put her hands up to silence them. Reluctantly, they granted her that silence. She took a deep breath.

"Now come on everybody, Starla made a mistake. I know we're all stressed, but I'm sure she's sorry that the mission was aborted. Starla, do-"

A quiet bleeping sounded by her knee. Her heart lifted - the sound told her that NICOLE had come within range of a SpaceTime pocket. The group went quiet: they too knew what the sound meant. Sally picked the hand-held off her boot and opened it, pressing a button that sent a holographic beam around her which traced the dimensions of the SpaceTime pocket. She stepped backwards outside the projected space, looked at Starla and smiled.

"There it is, Starla," she said reverently, "your way home!"

Starla looked at the pocket of holographically-lit air in front of her, for once dumbstruck. Finally she found her tongue. "That's the portal? What do I do?"

"I've got what you need." Sally replied. She offered NICOLE to Antoine to hold and took off her rucksack. She pulled out the bottle of hydrogen gas she and Rotor had prepared in his workshop and lifted it to eye level.

"What you have to do, Starla, is step into the middle of the space and open this bottle. But we need to get away from here first or we'll be taken through to your world with you." She handed the bottle to Starla. The hybrid stepped forward into the reddish haze.

In the background, Sonic began to corral everybody so that he could take them out of reach of the portal. As they lined up, Starla began to look upset. She drooped a little and stared at the ground, and then at the distance. Something about her seemed reluctant to do this. _Come on Starla,_ Sally thought determinedly. _Say goodbye. You need to go back..._

"Don't you guys want me to stay?" she asked finally, a slight tremor in her voice. Sally could almost feel everybody cringe behind her. Somehow it was her friends' awkwardness that made her words come kindly, freely and clearly.

"Honey, this isn't your home," she replied gently, wondering just how she was going to convince Starla that travelling back was the right thing to do. At that moment, Starla looked like she wouldn't travel back for anything- Then, she had it! Love! "I bet your warrior friend misses you," she said, "and all your other friends! You need to show them that you're okay."

Starla looked at the ground again at this. It looked like she had thoughts about that, but before she could counter anything Sally said the princess continued:

"You've got a whole world to go back to, Starla. Just make sure you remember us!"

"Yeah, Sugah," Bunnie chimed in, picking up on Sally's friendly but firm speech. "And Ah bet your mom misses you." In a flash, the others joined in too.

"Au revior, madamoiselle. You must to be 'aving a pleasant of journey 'ome!"

"Yeah! I mean, you wouldn't wanna see ol' Butt-nik again, would ya?"

xXx

Starla looked once more at the group, at their happy - too happy? - waving, at their plastic smiles. She opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Rotor.

"Bye, Starla," he said. She began to chuckle before realising that her laughter didn't quite fit. Even his smile was fixed and insistent, his eyes clear and child-wide and urging her to accept his message. Had he manipulated her into accepting him or leaving? Is that what she could sense: that these people really, _really_ wanted her to go? She couldn't understand why they wouldn't want her around: she was a great friend and always knew the right thing to say. Couldn't they appreciate that? Suddenly she saw only one solution: she had to say goodbye and get away from here. She couldn't stand the idea that they didn't want her. That idea hurt too much.

"G-goodbye," she said simply, still unsure quite what these peoples' opinion was of her. _They can't hate me. Can they?_ Trembling at the thought, she crouched, put the bottle down on the ground and placed her hand around the neck. She looked at Sonic, sadness rising in her chest. Now that we're parting, don't you want me to stay? Say you do. Please?

At this cue, Sonic ordered his friends to link together. Sally stood in front of him and he took her in the crook of one arm. The last thing Starla saw before the world blurred was Sally's indifferent expression. Then he accelerated into a dizzying run that pulled them all far, far away from her. The wind he generated pulled lightly at Starla's hair. The dust he kicked up curled and twisted before coming back down to the ground to settle. In an instant, Starla was by herself.

She hitched in a small sob: she was alone now. The only people she knew in this world had just rejected her. She squinted through the darkness: the Knothole Freedom Fighters were already a long way away.

Tearfully and full of the agony of rejection she pulled the cork.

xXx

Sally faced into the oncoming wind as Sonic raced, carrying her, along the walls of Robotropolis. She barely glanced in their direction even when they gave way to piles of rubbish and finally to clear ground. She glanced over Sonic's shoulder to see the pink form of Starla through rays of a bright white light. She opened and thrashed her wings as if in a panic, drawn into the midst of the white void. Sally looked forward again.

Ahead was a hill and Sonic sped up it. Gradually he slowed until he came to a stop and put everybody down. He must have guessed they were a safe distance away and, looking down at the spot Starla had been, Sally thought he was right. The others joined her on the crest of the hill to see the light flare and sparkle and cast strange lights against the city walls. As they watched, the light began to fall in on itself. Three more tendrils lashed into this world as if they were truly alive and winked out in a fraction of a second, and the light-show finished with an anticlimactic burst of white sparks. Nothing was left where Starla had been, not even the bottle.

xXx

Rotor watched those points of light flicker and felt himself relax. Finally Starla was gone and he thought it wasn't a second too soon. The day had been stressful and embarrassing but he was happy to see it end like this, with nobody harmed. He didn't want anything bad to happen to Starla no matter what she was like, and he was glad that together, the Knothole Freedom Fighters had sent her home safely.

He continued to watch the last of Starla's stars flicker and listened to the quiet rustlings of his friends. He felt lucky to have them and he thought of them now: Sonic, his best friend, who he could always rely on for support and to speak up when he couldn't. Sally, who'd been so confidential and allowed him to ignore his embarrassment gracefully and Bunnie, who contrastingly had shown him that she would accept him - and defend him - without hesitation. Even Antoine had a dignified, genteel way about him that Rotor appreciated right now. He smiled to himself. He was happy among his friends.

He still didn't want to talk, even to them, but their implicit support was warming and he felt it gladly. Now all he wanted was to go home. He glanced at Princess Sally, waiting for the word from her.

xXx

The alien embers burned out and Bunnie breathed a big ol' sigh of relief. She flexed her robotic hand and a thought occurred to her. Though she hated her robotic limbs, they did their job in giving her immense strength. They'd come in useful tonight. Until two days ago, she hadn't seen any good in them. But today she thought she'd found her groove. She looked at metal hand and clenched and unclenched it. Maybe they could make a truce, her robot bits and her.

Sonic's interruption of the fight between her and Starla had been just the right thing to do. He hadn't asked her to apologise for hitting Starla. And Sally's quiet support afterwards had been a tonic. She glanced around at the others and flicked her gaze briefly over to her marine friend.

Rotor. Loveable, vulnerable Rotor. She hoped he'd get his confidence back soon. He deserved it. She looked further around at the others. The rest of the team were more tolerant than she was. They'd calmed down the situation when she'd only helped it spill over. And for that she was grateful.

Yep, she needed these friends of hers.

xXx

Sonic couldn't help but sigh now that Starla was gone, but he wasn't quite sure why. Starla had been insensitive and rude for the whole time she'd been here. And yet... she'd had guts. Not everybody was as wrecklessly brave as she'd been. She had _that._ It was a strength he recognised because he had it himself. If she'd been kinder to his friends then she could have been a cool addition to the team. Maybe.

Then he thought back to yesterday, when he'd shown her to the spare hut. She'd tried to seduce him. He shivered. Had he liked that or not? He really wasn't sure. But as he tried to work it out he slowly realised that Sally was standing by his side. Whatever had happened between him and Starla, he didn't want it. Sally was a much cooler girl.

What was be _thinking?_ Girls has cooties!

He looked at her for a second. _Yeah actually,_ he thought. _She's okay. For a girl._

xXx

Antoine squinted into the darkness, the better to see the strange fireworks. Starla Mirage Brighteyes was gone. That was a good thing, he thought. For she had been callous, sneering, and she had treated his friends with an unkindness that he had found quite shocking.

With her gone and with his friends around him, he felt at ease again. Although Starla's sharp tongue had never been turned in his direction, he'd felt affronted on his friends' behalves. But now, thinking about this mission, he felt pleased with the tattered chosen family around him. They had done well. All of them. He took a look at them in turn: Bunnie had a smile of peace on her face that he hadn't seen since before her roboticization. Rotor looked mild and deep in thought, and content. Antoine allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction. He was pleased with how Rotor had weathered Starla's bullying, but he knew that all the walrus wanted for the next few months was space and understanding friendship, in measures that he cared to choose. Antoine was perfectly happy to grant this to his friend.

Antoine looked at Sonic and noted the hard edge of jealousy in his stomach. It felt wrong and he thought about it. Why did he feel it? What use did it serve? He took in a deep breath to stretch his chest, and when he let it out again, the anger had dispersed. Sonic was his unofficially adopted brother and deserved the same regard that everybody else. He knew that now, even if he did not always feel it. He smiled in Sonic's direction with genuine affection. Sonic looked lost, however. He was looking at the princess as if he needed her to do or say something. So Antoine did the same and glanced at her also. It was time for her to lead them home.

xXx

All that was left was the city and the dark vista. Clouds half-obscured the night sky The wind blew in their fur. There seemed no reason to stay.

Sally waited for a signal from one of the others that they should leave but it didn't come, not even from Sonic.

She looked around in confusion. 'Big Brother Sonic' wasn't taking the initiative. Neither was 'Big Sister Bunnie'. Antoine and Rotor, both looking for guidance, seemed to be waiting patiently for somebody else to make the move. Then she realised they were all looking at her.

What she felt then was happiness. But it was more than that: something in her took root, almost as if it had literally latched onto the ground. It felt solid and strong. _They want me to lead them back?_ she asked herself, searching each of their faces in turn. And it seemed, by their expressions, that the answer was _yes._

She felt a spontaneous smile break over her face. Perhaps she _did_ have a place in this family, after all. Maybe Bunnie was a big sister but wasn't she, too? Who could say they were not _both_ older sisters, almost twins, each looking after the family in a way the other could not. That had a ring of truth to it; it felt right. She smiled again at them all. Yes: she was the big sister too.

"Come on, guys," she said, "Let's go home!"

THE END.

DISCLAIMER: "Sonic the Hedgehog" and most other characters and situations in the following story are copyrighted trademarks of Sega Incorporated, Archie Comics and/or DIC Productions. Permission to reproduce this specific material may be granted by the author so long as you email first. © 2013 Velvet D'Coolette. The Bookshire Draftwood character © David Pistone.


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